Such a fleece folding machine has been known from FR-2 553 102. The fleece folding machine, designed as a so-called belt layer, has two main carriages movable relative to one another and two endless and rotatingly driven laying belts, which are guided in loops. The laying belts run in parallel at least in the section between the main carriages, and they take up and guide the nap between them. On the intake side, the fleece folding machine has a so-called belt intake of the laying belts for taking up the nap. The laying belts, moved on from two sides, meet here and form an intake section with an opening angle of the laying belts of at least 20.degree.. The intake slot at the inlet of the intake section is very large as a result and is substantially wider than the nap thickness. The nap fed in on one of the laying belts is deflected obliquely downward against the horizontal at an acute angle in the belt intake. The nap lies open in the intake section due to the large opening angle and the wide intake slot and is clamped and guided on both sides between the laying belts only at the lower end between the two adjacent deflecting rollers. The nap may be lifted off from the lower laying belt in the intake section at high speeds. This may lead to disturbances, especially in sensitive naps. The feed speed is limited in this arrangement.
The nap fed on the laying belt is deflected downwards in the belt intake. In the belt intake, the two laying belts have two belt sections that run in parallel next to each other and in a straight line and form the said intake slot. These belt sections extend downwards at right angles in the state of the art, as a result of which the nap fed in horizontally is deflected by 90.degree. at the belt intake. It was found in practice that such a belt intake can be used for limited nap feed speeds and work speeds of the fleece folding machine only. If the feed speeds become too high, tearing off may occur in the very light and highly sensitive fiber nap.
FR-2 553 102 shows another fleece folding machine. In the belt intake, the two laying belts have two straight belt sections running in parallel next to each other, which extend vertically downward, as a result of which the nap fed in horizontally is deflected by 90.degree. at the belt intake. It was found in practice that such a belt intake can likewise be used for limited feed speeds of the nap and limited working speeds of the fleece folding machine only. If the feed speeds become too high, tearing off may occur in the very light and highly sensitive fiber nap.
Developments, e.g., according to EP-A-0 517 568, tend to provide a very broad and wide open intake hopper before the belt intake. The laying belt feeding in the nap has an obliquely falling belt section, on which nap is conveyed, however, open. The second laying belt comes in only at the lower end of the belt section, as a result of which the nap enters between the two laying belts at this point only and is taken up and guided bilaterally by the laying belts at the deflection of the belt only. The belt intake is arranged at the upper main carriage and consequently movably in this case as well.
WO 91/156018 shows another variant of the belt intake, in which both laying belts are guided via two large deflecting rollers at the main carriage. A wide intake hopper is also formed as a result for the nap fed in on the one laying belt. The two large deflecting rollers are arranged horizontally next to each other approximately at the same level, as a result of which the nap is taken up and guided on both sides by the laying belts coming close to each other here only approximately at the level of the center of the two rollers. Before and after this, the laying belts move apart due to the roller shape. Even though these above-mentioned two fleece folding machines are designed for higher nap feed speeds and work speeds of the fleece folding machine, speed-limiting problems nevertheless arise due to the fact that the laying belts are brought together in a punctiform or linear manner only and the guide length is correspondingly short.
Furthermore, fleece folding machines with stationarily arranged belt intakes, in which the laying belts are guided via stationarily arranged deflecting rollers, have been known from DE-A 19 27 863 and DE-A 24 29 106. Both fleece folding machines have horizontal belt intakes.
In DE-A 24 29 106, the two laying belts form a horizontal intake slot, which joins the feed belt coming from the card engine. The laying belts are separated from one another at the upper main carriage, the nap is deflected downwards by 90.degree. and is conveyed and guided on the one lower laying belt only. In DE-A 19 27 863, the nap is fed in via a stationary conveyor belt arranged upstream and is brought in free fall onto a subjacent, somewhat obliquely extending laying belt section in front of the belt intake. The second laying belt is arranged only at a certain distance behind this point. The intake slot is formed only very late at the deflection point into the next horizontal intake section of the belt intake. Both embodiments with the stationary belt intake considerably limit the nap feed speed and the speed of the fleece folding machine.